STEAM Families,

What an exciting week we have had. We have spent most of the days of the week listening to student presentations and defenses which I have highlighted below. I know this has been a stressful week for most as we wrap up final assignments, projects, papers, and presentations but our students are resilient and finished the week strong.

Just a reminder that we DO have school next week on Monday and Tuesday as we finalize courses and close out the semester. Grades will be finalized over break and just a reminder that teachers will not be available to answer questions about grades or schedules over the break.

Students will return on January 4th, and the first 5 days of the school year will be J-Term Days. Please ask your students about J-Term. Our new semester schedule of courses will start on January 11th. Please do not email counselors about course choices, especially if the request is to be in courses with a certain teacher or friend. Schedule changes will only be made if there are mistakes made on our end.

I will not send a newsletter next week as it is a short week. I will send a message most likely on January 3rd to prepare you for that first day back to school on the 4th.

I hope everyone has an amazing break and enjoys some much-needed time off.

-Dr. Flores

Our weekly Goal for Average Daily Attendance if 95%. Please help us reach this goal weekly by encouraging your students to come to school and be on time.

If your student is out for any reason, you have three school days after the absence to turn in an excuse note or a doctor's note. After three days, the absence will remain unexcused. To log an excuse note, please see the following link or email our attendance specialist, Ms. Pendleton.

Please note that leaving early for winter break for family plans or traveling is considered an unexcused absence.

No Pass No Drive Forms: If your student schedules a driver's test during the break, please plan accordingly with regard to the No Pass No Drive form. Those requests need to be submitted to Mrs. Dunaway by Monday so she can have them ready on Tuesday before we leave for break. The office will not be open during break to facilitate these forms.

Winter Weather NTI Update: In the event of winter weather, the district may call for an NTI (Non-Traditional Instruction Day). If an NTI day is called, all STEAM teachers will post work that is asynchronous by 8am the morning of an NTI day. No specific times to log in will be needed and students can complete their work on their own. No new content will be delivered with the exception of Dual Credit courses. All teachers will be available for office hours from the times of 1:30-3:30pm on an NTI day. Those Zoom Links will be posted on our website and on each teacher's Canvas Page.

Students will have 3 days from the time we return to turn in all work, or it will be marked as missing, and they will also be marked as absent for the NTI day.

All Dual Credit courses will follow the expectations of the college and their professors as those classes are not on the same expectations as FCPS with regard to weather.

Canvas for Families: All our live grades and student assignments are in Canvas and not Infinite Campus. This “Canvas Family Guide” provides step-by-step instructions to help parents & guardians set up their Canvas account:

The guide also includes video tours of the browser & mobile app platforms. If you have any questions, please email Ms. Rosen.

ESS (Extended School Services): ESS will resume on January 17th. For more information, please contact our ESS coordinator, Ms. Rose.

BCTC/UK Dual Credit Newsletter: Follow along with all the dual credit information and updates happening with your student and Dual Credit. For questions, please email Mr. Ridd or Mrs. Strange.

STEAM Graduate Cap and Gown Information: Please see the linked information below on the process for ordering caps and gowns for graduation. It is very important that you follow the steps correctly. Please reach out to Mrs. Strange if you have any questions.

Scholarship Opportunities: Click the link below for scholarship information for students.

STEAM Family Resource Center (FRYSC): In an effort to better serve you and your family, Ms. Bell greatly needs your help. Please take less than 5 minutes to fill out this survey indicating your wants/needs from the Youth Service Center.

If you have any questions, please email Ms. Bell

Please see flier about January FAFSA Night and link to REGISTER.

Join the PTSA: Please consider joining the STEAM PTSA (Parent, Teacher, Student Association). The PTSA provides great support to our school, and you can join for only $10. The goal is to have over 100 members this year and currently we are at 84 members!

Support the STEAM PTSA: Happy Holidays from the STEAM Academy PTSA! 

STEAM Ski Trip: Please see a field trip opportunity for all students below. Payments are currently being accepted. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Vaughan or Mrs. Strange.

Each week we will try to spotlight staff members, students, community partners, a school event, a school club, etc. that adds value to our school community. This week we are spotlighting our STEAM Defenses of Learning.

Below are some highlights from our defense week at STEAM. Our students did an excellent job preparing their defenses for staff and community partners. We had sophomore defenses, science fair presentations, and our senior defenses. We appreciate all the hard work that was put into these defenses and students were able to effectively demonstrate the STEAM Habits to their defense panels. STEAM Academy takes pride in our defense process and our experiences and expectations for students are meant to be non-traditional and performance-based. Our students accepted this challenge, and we are looking forward to our freshmen and junior exhibitions of learning in the spring.

Thank you to all those staff members who were instrumental in making this week a huge success.